Inductor bridge and electronic device

ABSTRACT

An inductor bridge includes a flexible substrate and a coil defined by a conductor pattern provided on or in the flexible substrate, and connects a plurality of circuit portions. The flexible substrate includes a rigid portion and a flexible portion, the rigid portion being wider than the flexible portion. The rigid portion includes the coil and a joining portion connected to another circuit. The coil includes two coil portions located at different positions in plan view, a flexible portion is located adjacent to one side of the rigid portion, and at least two coil portions of the plurality of coil portions are located on the one side when viewed from the joining portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese PatentApplication No. 2017-250243 filed on Dec. 26, 2017 and is a ContinuationApplication of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2018/047445 filed on Dec. 25,2018. The entire contents of each application are hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an element that connects two circuitportions, and more particularly, to an inductor bridge including aninductance component and an electronic device including the inductorbridge.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, when a small electronic device such as a mobile terminalincludes a circuit portion provided on a circuit board or the like and acircuit portion such as an antenna provided by a member different fromthe circuit board, the circuit portions are sometimes connected via aflexible inductor bridge as indicated, for example, in WO 2014/129279.

When the flexible inductor bridge is mounted on a circuit board or thelike, due to a structure in which the inductor bridge is arranged in alimited space, the inductor bridge not only merely has a bendingportion, but also tends to be subject to a stress due to bending.

The circuit portion is joined to a joining portion of the inductorbridge. The stress due to bending is likely to be applied to thisjoining portion. Therefore, there is a possibility that poor connectionbetween the joining portion and the circuit portion can be induced.

Further, when the coil is deformed under the influence of the bending,the inductance of the coil can deviate from a specified value.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide inductor bridgesthat each have increased connection reliability between a joiningportion and a circuit portion with respect to bending, and electronicdevices each including an inductor bridge. Further, preferredembodiments of the present invention provide inductor bridges that eachsignificantly reduce or prevent a deviation of inductance of a coil withrespect to bending, and electronic devices each including such inductorbridges.

An inductor bridge according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention includes a flexible substrate and a coil defined by aconductor pattern provided on or in the flexible substrate, the inductorbridge connecting a plurality of circuit portions. The flexiblesubstrate includes at least one rigid portion and at least one flexibleportion, the at least one rigid portion being wider than the flexibleportion, and the at least one rigid portion includes the coil and ajoining portion connected to another circuit. The coil includes aplurality of coil portions located at different positions in plan view,and the flexible portion is located adjacent to one side of the at leastone rigid portion. At least two of the plurality of coil portions arelocated on the one side when viewed from the joining portion, and theplurality of coil portions located on the one side when viewed from thejoining portion includes a first coil portion and a second coil portion.The second coil portion is located nearer to the one side than the firstcoil portion, and an inductance of the second coil portion issubstantially equal to or less than an inductance of the first coilportion.

Since the wide rigid portion where the joining portion is provided has along length from the joining portion to the flexible portion, a stressdue to bending of the flexible portion is hardly transmitted to thejoining portion. Further, due to the presence of the coil in the rigidportion, the rigidity of the rigid portion is further increased, andpoor connection at the joining portion is significantly reduced orprevented. Further, since the deformation of the entire coil is alsosignificantly reduced or prevented, the deviation of the inductance ofthe coil is also significantly reduced or prevented.

Further, since the second coil portion is nearer to the flexibleportion, the amount of deformation due to a bending stress is larger ascompared with that of the first coil portion. However, the deviation ofinductance due to deformation of the second coil portion is relativelysmall, and the deviation of the inductance of the entire coil issignificantly reduced or prevented.

The flexible substrate may be a multilayer substrate including aplurality of laminated insulating base material layers, and a conductorpattern defining the coil may be provided over the plurality ofinsulating base material layers.

The uniformity of the layer thickness of the insulating base materiallayers is so high that stable characteristics are provided as compared,for example, with a structure in which a coil is defined by asingle-layer conductor pattern.

The flexible portion may include a bending portion. With this structure,the inductor bridge is able to be easily bent into a predetermined shapeas compared with a structure in which the rigid portion is bent.Further, since the flexible portion is bent, not the rigid portion, theconnection reliability of the joining portion is able to be maintained,and the fluctuation of the inductance of the coil is able to be reducedor prevented.

An electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention comprises an inductor bridge, a first circuit portion, and asecond circuit portion, the first circuit portion and the second circuitportion being connected via the inductor bridge. The inductor bridgeincludes a flexible substrate and a coil defined by a conductor patternprovided on or in the flexible substrate, the inductor bridge connectinga plurality of circuit portions. The flexible substrate includes atleast one rigid portion and at least one flexible portion, the at leastone rigid portion is wider than the flexible portion, and the at leastone rigid portion includes the coil and a joining portion connected toanother circuit. The coil includes a plurality of coil portions locatedat different positions in plan view, and the flexible portion is locatedadjacent to one side of the at least one rigid portion. At least two ofthe plurality of coil portions are located on the one side when viewedfrom the joining portion, and the plurality of coil portions located onthe one side when viewed from the joining portion includes a first coilportion and a second coil portion. The second coil portion is locatednearer to the one side than the first coil portion, and an inductance ofthe second coil portion is substantially equal to or less than aninductance of the first coil portion. In a state where the flexibleportion is bent, the first circuit portion and the second circuitportion are connected via the inductor bridge.

With the above configuration, an electronic device including an inductorbridge with high connection reliability at the joining portion is ableto be provided. Further, an electronic device including an inductorbridge in which the deviation of the inductance of the coil issignificantly reduced or prevented is able to be provided.

According to preferred embodiments the present invention, inductorbridges that each have increased connection reliability between thejoining portion and the circuit portion with respect to bending, andelectronic devices including such inductor bridges are provided.Further, the inductor bridges in each of which the deviation of theinductance of the coil with respect to bending is significantly reducedor prevented, and the electronic devices each including such inductorbridges are provided.

The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics andadvantages of the present invention will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiments withreference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an inductor bridge 101according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of each layer of the inductor bridge 101.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of an inductor bridge 102according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of each layer of the inductor bridge 102.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of an electronicdevice 402 according to the second preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6A is a circuit diagram of a portion including the inductor bridge102 in the electronic device 402. FIG. 6B is an equivalent circuitdiagram thereof.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of each layer of an inductor bridge according to athird preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the inductor bridge103.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the drawings by way of some specificexamples. In the drawings, the same or similar elements and portions aredenoted by the same reference numerals. Although preferred embodimentsare separately indicated for the sake of convenience in consideration ofdescription of points or the ease of understanding, partial replacementor combination of features in different preferred embodiments ispossible. In the second and subsequent preferred embodiments,description of matters common to the first preferred embodiment will beomitted, and only different points will be described. In particular, thesame or similar advantageous operations and effects of the same featureswill not be sequentially described for each preferred embodiment.

First Preferred Embodiment

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an inductor bridge 101according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Theinductor bridge 101 includes a flexible substrate 10 and a coil definedby a conductor pattern provided on or in the flexible substrate 10, andconnects a plurality of circuit portions.

The flexible substrate 10 includes wide rigid portions RP1 and RP2 and anarrow flexible portion FP. That is, the rigid portions RP1 and RP2 arewider than the flexible portion FP. In FIG. 1, the direction along the Yaxis is the width direction. A first joining portion 11 is provided onthe rigid portion RP1 of the inductor bridge 101, and a second joiningportion 12 is provided on the rigid portion RP2.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of each layer of the inductor bridge 101. Theinductor bridge 101 includes insulating base material layers 91 and 92and a resist film 81. On the insulating base material layer 91, a firstjoining portion 11, a first coil portion 21A, and a second coil portion22A are provided. A second joining portion 12 is provided on the rigidportion RP2. In the flexible portion FP, a wiring portion 30 thatelectrically connects the second coil portion 22A and the second joiningportion 12 is provided. A first coil portion 21B and a second coilportion 22B are provided on the insulating base material layer 92.

The inner peripheral end of the first coil portion 21A and the innerperipheral end of the first coil portion 21B are electrically connectedvia an interlayer connection conductor. Similarly, the inner peripheralend of the second coil portion 22A and the inner peripheral end of thesecond coil portion 22B are electrically connected via an interlayerconnection conductor.

Openings AP that expose the first joining portion 11 and the secondjoining portion 12 are provided through the resist film 81.

The insulating base material layers 91 and 92 are preferably flexibleinsulating base material layers, for example, liquid crystal polymer(LCP) and polyetheretherketone (PEEK). The resist film 81 is preferablya printable insulating resin material, for example. Each conductorpattern is preferably provided by patterning, for example, a Cu foil.

Thus, a coil as an inductor is provided by the two coil portions locatedat different positions in plan view. The first coil portions 21A and 21Band the second coil portions 22A and 22B are magnetically coupled via aclosed-loop magnetic flux that interlinks them. This magnetic fieldcoupling couples the first coil portions 21A and 21B, and the secondcoil portions 22A and 22B by additive polarity. Therefore, theinductance of the entire coil is the sum of the self-inductance of thefirst coil portions 21A and 21B, the self-inductance of the second coilportions 22A and 22B, and the mutual inductance by the magnetic fieldcoupling.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flexible portion FP is located adjacent to oneside (the direction along the X axis) of the rigid portion RP1. Thefirst coil portions 21A and 21B and the second coil portions 22A and 22Bare located on the one side (the direction along the X axis) when viewedfrom the first joining portion 11.

According to the first preferred embodiment, since the wide rigidportion RP1 where the first joining portion 11 is provided has a longlength from the first joining portion 11 to the flexible portion FP, thestress due to the bending of the flexible portion FP is hardlytransmitted to the first joining portion 11. Further, the rigidity ofthe rigid portion RP1 is high due to the presence of the coil of therigid portion RP1. In particular, since the first coil portions 21A and21B and the second coil portions 22A and 22B have a spiral shape andhigh-density conductor patterns are provided substantially uniformly,the rigidity of the entire rigid portion RP1 is high. Therefore, poorconnection at the first joining portion 11 is significantly reduced orprevented. Further, since the deformation of the entire coil is alsosignificantly reduced or prevented, the deviation of the inductance ofthe coil is significantly reduced or prevented.

Second Preferred Embodiment

In a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example ofan inductor bridge including a coil different from that of the firstpreferred embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the inductor bridge 102according to the second preferred embodiment. The inductor bridge 102includes a flexible substrate 10 and a coil defined by a conductorpattern provided on or in the flexible substrate 10, and connects twocircuit portions. The inductor bridge 102 includes connectors 51 and 52.The connector 51 is joined to a first joining portion, which will bedescribed later. The connector 52 is joined to a second joining portion,which will be described later.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of each layer of the inductor bridge 102. Theinductor bridge 102 includes insulating base material layers 91 and 92and resist films 81 and 82. A first joining portion 11, a first coilportion 21A, and a second coil portion 22A are provided in the rigidportion RP1 of the insulating base material layer 91. An internalelectrode 12S of the second joining portion is provided in the rigidportion RP2. In the flexible portion FP, a wiring portion 30 thatelectrically connects the second coil portion 22A and the internalelectrode 12S of the second joining portion is provided. A secondjoining portion 12, a first coil portion 21B, and a second coil portion22B are provided on the insulating base material layer 92.

The inner peripheral end of the first coil portion 21A and the innerperipheral end of the first coil portion 21B are electrically connectedvia an interlayer connection conductor. Similarly, the inner peripheralend of the second coil portion 22A and the inner peripheral end of thesecond coil portion 22B are electrically connected via an interlayerconnection conductor. Further, the internal electrode 12S of the secondjoining portion and the second joining portion 12 are electricallyconnected via an interlayer connection conductor.

An opening AP that exposes the first joining portion 11 is providedthrough the resist film 81. Further, an opening AP that exposes thesecond joining portion 12 is provided through the resist film 82.

A connector 51 is joined to the first joining portion 11, and aconnector 52 is joined to the second joining portion 12.

In the second preferred embodiment, the numbers of coil turns of thesecond coil portions 22A and 22B are smaller than the numbers of coilturns of the first coil portions 21A and 21B. In other words, theinductance of the second coil portions 22A and 22B is smaller than theinductance of the first coil portions 21A and 21B.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of the electronicdevice 402 according to the second preferred embodiment. The electronicdevice 402 includes an antenna board 301, a circuit board 201, and theinductor bridge 102.

An antenna element pattern is provided on the antenna board 301. A firstconnector 51 of the inductor bridge 102 is connected to a predeterminedportion of the antenna element pattern. A second connector 52 of theinductor bridge 102 is connected to a connection provided on the uppersurface of the circuit board 201. In FIG. 5, the first coil portions 21Aand 21B are collectively represented as a first coil portion 21.Similarly, the second coil portions 22A and 22B are collectivelyrepresented as a second coil portion 22.

As shown in FIG. 5, the inductor bridge 102 is bent at its flexibleportion FP.

As described above, since the wide rigid portion RP1 where the firstjoining portion 11 (connector 51) is provided has a long length from thefirst joining portion 11 to the flexible portion FP, the stress due tothe bending of the flexible portion FP is hardly transmitted to thefirst joining portion 11. Further, due to the presence of the two coilportions (21A and 21B) and (22A and 22B) of the rigid portion RP1, therigidity of the rigid portion RP1 is high, and poor connection at thefirst joining portion 11 is significantly reduced or prevented. Further,since the first coil portions 21A and 21B having a relatively largernumber of turns are farther from the flexible portion FP than the secondcoil portions 22A and 22B having a smaller number of turns, thedeformation of the first coil portions 21A and 21B is small. Therefore,the deviation of the inductance of the coil is significantly reduced orprevented.

FIG. 6A is a circuit diagram of a portion including the inductor bridge102 in the electronic device 402. FIG. 6B is an equivalent circuitdiagram thereof. In FIG. 6A, an antenna ANT is defined by an antennaelement pattern provided on the antenna board 301. This is an example ofproviding an antenna in which a series circuit of an inductor and acapacitor is inserted between a ground connection point and a ground inan inverted-F antenna. This capacitor is preferably, for example, a chipcapacitor mounted on the inductor bridge 102.

Third Preferred Embodiment

In a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example ofan inductor bridge including a coil that is different from that of thefirst and second preferred embodiments will be described.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of each layer of an inductor bridge according tothe third preferred embodiment. Further, FIG. 8 is a longitudinalcross-sectional view of the inductor bridge 103. The inductor bridge 103includes insulating base material layers 91, 92, 93 and 94. A firstjoining portion 11, a first coil portion 21A, and a second coil portion22A are provided in a rigid portion RP of the insulating base materiallayer 91. An internal electrode 11S of a first joining portion, a firstcoil portion 21B, and a second coil portion 22B are provided in a rigidportion RP of the insulating base material layer 92. An internalelectrode 11S of a first joining portion, a first coil portion 21C, anda second coil portion 22C are provided in a rigid portion RP of theinsulating base material layer 94.

In the rigid portion RP of the insulating base material layer 93, awiring conductor that electrically connects the first joining portion 11and the internal electrode 11S of the first joining portion to the innerperipheral ends of the first coil portions 21A, 21B, and 21C isprovided.

The flexible portion FP includes a wiring portion 30 extracting from theinner peripheral ends of the second coil portions 22A, 22B, and 22C.

The coil of the inductor bridge 103 of the third preferred embodimentincludes a series circuit of the first coil portion 21A and the secondcoil portion 22A, a series circuit of the first coil portion 21B and thesecond coil portion 22B, and a series circuit of the first coil portion21C and the second coil portion 22C, which are electrically connected inparallel.

As described above, the flexible substrate is a multilayer substrateincluding a plurality of laminated insulating base material layers, andthe conductor pattern providing the coil is provided over the pluralityof insulating base material layers.

With the above configuration, the uniformity of the layer thickness ofthe insulating base material is so high that stable characteristics areprovided as compared, for example, with a structure in which a coil isdefined by a single-layer conductor pattern. Further, even if thethickness of the conductor pattern of each layer is thin, a directcurrent resistance component of the coil is able to be significantlyreduced by electrically connecting the plurality of coil portions inparallel.

Further, according to the third preferred embodiment, since the internalelectrode 11S of the first joining portion is laminated on the firstjoining portion 11, the rigidity of the first joining portion is able tobe further increased.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 8, the layer from which the wiring portion30 is extracted is located between two coil conductor pattern formationlayers (a formation layer of the coil portions 21B and 22B and aformation layer of the coil portions 21C and 22C). Thus, the layerinterval between the two coil conductor patterns and the layer intervalbetween the two coil conductor patterns and the wiring portion 30 isable to be secured. Furthermore, by not providing the wiring portion 30between the insulating base material layers 91 and 92 where theinterlayer connection conductors are continuously provided, the two coilconductor patterns (coil portions 21A and 22A and coil portions 21B and22B) connected by the interlayer connection conductors are able to beprevented from contacting the wiring portion 30.

Note that a resist film may be provided on the outer surfaces of theinsulating base material layers 91 and 94.

Other Preferred Embodiments

The descriptions of the preferred embodiments of the present inventionare provided as examples, and do not limit the scope of the presentinvention. Modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in theart as appropriate. The scope of the present invention is defined by theclaims, not by the aforementioned preferred embodiments. Further, thescope of the present invention includes changes from the preferredembodiments within the scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

For example, the coil portion provided in the rigid portion is notlimited to being defined by two coil portions, but may include two ormore coil portions, and two of the coil portions may be located on oneside (X-axis direction side) when viewed from the first joining portion11.

Further, the number of laminated insulating base material layers may bedifferent between the rigid portion and the flexible portion. Inparticular, increasing the number of laminations of the rigid portion iseffective in increasing the rigidity.

Further, the bending direction of the flexible portion is not limited tothe direction in which the surface of the flexible substrate is bent,but may include a component that provides bending in a direction alongthe surface. Further, there may be a torsion component.

Further, the coil may be defined by a single-layer conductor pattern.Further, the coil is not limited to a spiral shape, and the coil portionof each layer may have a substantially one-turn coil pattern.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention,therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inductor bridge comprising: a flexiblesubstrate; and a coil defined by a conductor pattern provided on or inthe flexible substrate; wherein the inductor bridge connects a pluralityof circuit portions; the flexible substrate includes at least one rigidportion and at least one flexible portion; the at least one rigidportion is wider than the flexible portion; the at least one rigidportion includes the coil and a joining portion connected to anothercircuit; the coil includes a plurality of coil portions located atdifferent positions in plan view; the flexible portion is locatedadjacent to one side of the at least one rigid portion; at least two ofthe plurality of coil portions are located on the one side when viewedfrom the joining portion; the plurality of coil portions located on theone side when viewed from the joining portion include a first coilportion and a second coil portion; the second coil portion is locatednearer to the one side than the first coil portion; and an inductance ofthe second coil portion is substantially equal to or less than aninductance of the first coil portion.
 2. The inductor bridge accordingto claim 1, wherein the flexible substrate is a multilayer substrateincluding a plurality of laminated insulating base material layers; anda conductor pattern defining the coil is provided over the plurality ofinsulating base material layers.
 3. The inductor bridge according toclaim 1, further comprising a bending portion in the flexible portion.4. An electronic device comprising: an inductor bridge; a first circuitportion; and a second circuit portion; wherein the first circuit portionand the second circuit portion are connected via the inductor bridge;the inductor bridge includes a flexible substrate and a coil defined bya conductor pattern provided on or in the flexible substrate, theinductor bridge connecting a plurality of circuit portions; the flexiblesubstrate includes at least one rigid portion and at least one flexibleportion; the at least one rigid portion is wider than the flexibleportion; the at least one rigid portion includes the coil and a joiningportion connected to another circuit; the coil includes a plurality ofcoil portions located at different positions in plan view; the flexibleportion is located adjacent to one side of the at least one rigidportion; at least two of the plurality of coil portions are located onthe one side when viewed from the joining portion; the plurality of coilportions located on the one side when viewed from the joining portioninclude a first coil portion and a second coil portion; the second coilportion is located nearer to the one side than the first coil portion;an inductance of the second coil portion is substantially equal to orless than an inductance of the first coil portion; and in a state wherethe flexible portion is bent, the first circuit portion and the secondcircuit portion are connected via the inductor bridge.
 5. The electronicdevice according to claim 4, wherein the flexible substrate is amultilayer substrate including a plurality of laminated insulating basematerial layers; and a conductor pattern defining the coil is providedover the plurality of insulating base material layers.
 6. The electronicdevice according to claim 4, further comprising a bending portion in theflexible portion.
 7. The inductor bridge according to claim 2, whereinthe multilayer substrate includes a resist film provided on theplurality of laminated insulating base material layers.
 8. The inductorbridge according to claim 7, wherein the resist film includes at leastone opening that exposes the joining portion.
 9. The inductor bridgeaccording to claim 2, wherein the plurality of laminated insulating basematerial layers include at least one of liquid crystal polymer (LCP) andpolyetheretherketone (PEEK).
 10. The inductor bridge according to claim1, wherein the at least one rigid portion includes a first rigid portionand a second rigid portion; the first rigid portion is located adjacentto a first side of the flexible portion; and the second rigid portion islocated adjacent to a second side of the flexible portion.
 11. Theinductor bridge according to claim 10, wherein the first rigid portionincludes the coil and the joining portion; and the second rigid portionincludes a second joining portion.
 12. The inductor bridge according toclaim 1, wherein the first coil portion and the second coil portion aremagnetically coupled by a closed-loop magnetic flux.
 13. The electronicdevice according to claim 4, wherein the first circuit portion includesan antenna element pattern.
 14. The electronic device according to claim4, wherein a capacitor is mounted on the inductor bridge.